Daily Verse: Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Seems some things haven’t really changed all that much over hundreds of years. Even in Paul’s days, people were throwing out empty and deceiving ideas about how to live and what god’s to follow. Same thing still applies today. For some reason, we are quick to find more credibility in the intellectuals, scientists, politicians, and anyone that sounds half-way intelligent with a microphone or keyboard instead of our living God. The Bible provides explicit directions on how we are to live our lives…lives in service to God, not ourselves…lives in thanksgiving, instead of grumbling and anger…lives in humility and charity, instead of arrogance and greed…lives in disciplined obedience, instead of a free-for-all, anything goes mentality. Yet it’s so easy to sink into the quick sand of this world…especially in the social media, instant information era that we live in. With a click of a button, a waterfall of ideas and concepts comes overflowing into our minds…many that directly oppose the will of our God and the very Gospel that we cling to for salvation. Yet we are guilty of considering them, and at times applying them to our lives through some form of rationalization. We live in a messed up world…has been that way since Adam and Eve took that fateful bite. So what then? We can’t be expected to hole ourselves up in a room, locked away from the “pollution” of the world with our nose buried in the Bible. That’s not realistic…and if we did do that, the very Gospel message would be hindered. But we can be expected to live our daily lives close to God…making time to study his Word, consciously considering whether or not our actions align with his commands, and prayerfully seeking his impact on our lives. When we live for this world, God is at arm’s length and we become mired in sin…but when we truly live for the Lord, God walks closely by our side and makes an impact on our lives…seen in James 4:8, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” If we have genuine faith in Christ, then it will be evident in our lives and we will stand firm in him. But if we find ourselves easily influenced and swaying with the prevailing winds, then a restructuring is needed. Crack open God’s Word and soak it in…then watch as the once shaky foundation becomes solid in Christ. To God be the glory!